In a letter to Hammond, lead members for children's services from the councils told the Chancellor that additional funding is urgently required to meet an increase in the number of children in care.
They say that rising demand, coupled with a fall in council budgets, means they are having to reduce early intervention work, which is vital to ensuring families can stay together and avoid the need for care.
The looked-after children population across the North West is at a 20-year high of 13,000 and is higher than any other region in England, the letter states.
Since 2013 the children in care population has grown by 13 per cent, more than double the England-wide increase of six per cent. Over the last year councils in the area have faced a £45m increase in their residential children's care bill, adds the letter.
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